Nikon D90 - D-SLR that Records Video

For all you aspiring photographers...

Camcorders, look out! Nikon recently announced its D90, a digital SLR camera that promises to do things that no point-and-shoot digital camera or even non-professional camcorder can.

Nikon says the D90 (Click on the image at right for a closer look) records both high-definition (720p) and standard-definition video using interchangeable lenses, while taking advantage of numerous other SLR benefits, among them low-light sensitivity, fast continuous shooting, and high-capacity batteries. Nikon says the D90 will be available sometime in September and list for $999 (camera body only) or $1,299 (with lens).

A few highlights:

• With a D90, you can shoot videos using many of Nikon's lenses such as its fish-eye and macro lenses, for the same creative control you get with stills. For example, with some lenses, you should be able to reduce the camera's depth of field enough that, when shooting video, the subject stands out because the background is noticeably out of focus.
  
• Because the D90 uses an image sensor very similar to the one found on the Nikon D300 (model information available to subscribers), you should be able to shoot decent quality video or still images in very low light without a flash. The D300 is the only model in our Ratings of digital SLRs (available to subscribers) able to capture, in low-light, images good enough to enlarge, even when set as high as ISO 3200. (Most SLRs can do so only up to ISO 800 or less, our tests found.) It was also one of only three SLRs with excellent overall image quality and dynamic range.
  
• You can shoot stills continuously up to 4.5 frames per second (fps) and both high-definition (1280x720) and standard-definition video at 24 fps. Videos are stored on a flash memory card; you can edit them later on a computer. There's also an HDMI output for playing back high-resolution videos on an HDTV.
  
• Other features include 12.3 megapixels, face detection, scene-recognition, and live-view composition on the LCD when shooting stills.
  

Several dealers are already taking orders online; one lists the release date as September 7. By comparison, a high-performing, high-definition camcorder like the Panasonic HDC-SD9 (available to subscribers) and a typical basic SLR together might run you $1,400 to $1,600 without a lens.

If you're looking for a less-expensive Nikon SLR and you don't need video, consider the 10-megapixel Nikon D80 D-SLR (model information available to subscribers). It's one of the top-rated digital SLR camera models in our recent Ratings of D-SLRs and is available online for as little as $730 (body only).